Sharp County record., 1887-03-17
TAIMAGE'S SERMON.
A Telling Discourse on the "Swell-
ing of Jordan"
IIov Those Who Will May Find Means to
Resist the Flood Tides of Tempta'
tion and Their Consequences
Farly Promises Unfuifilled.

for his subject THE SWelllnS Vi Jorudh'
taking for his text'
If thou hast run with the footmen ana tney
have wearied thee, then how canst thou con-
tend with horses? And if in the land OF peace
wherein thou trustedst, they Wearleo thee, tnen
how will thou do in the swelling OF Jordah!-
jeremiah xii, 8.
jeremiah had become impatient Win
his troubles. God says to him:
sIf YOU can not stand these small trlalS
and prosecutions, what are you gong 10
do when the greater trials and persecu-
tions comet If you have been running
race with footmen and they have beaten
YOU, what chance is there that you Will
outrun horsesP'
And then the figure is changed. You
know, in April and May the Jordan over
flows it's banks, and the waters rush
violently on, sweeping every thing before
them. And God says to the prophet:
"If YOU are overcome with smaller
trials and yeXations, which have assault
ed YOU, what will you do when the trials
and annoyances and prosecutions OF life
come in freshetp
Tin the land OF peace, wherein thou trust
edst, they weared thee, then how will thou DO
in the swelling of JordanH
HOW DO WITHOUT CHRIST?
Ipropose, if God will help me, IN very
practical way to ask-if it is such dill
cultthing to get along without the relig-
ION of Jesus Christ, when things are COM
paratively smooth, what will we do with
out Christ amid the overpOwering mistort-
unes and disasters of life that may come
upon us2 If troubles, slow as footmen,
surpass US, what will we do when they
take the feet of horses2 and If now in our
lifetime we are beaten back and sub
merged of sorrows because we have not
the religion of Jesus to comfort US, what
will we do when we stand in death, ana
we'feel all around about us "the swell
ing of Jordan?" The fact that you
have come here, my brother, my
sister, shows that you have some things
you believe in common with myself. You
believe that there is God. There is not
an Atheist in all this house. l do not be-
lieve there ever was a real Atheist in all
the world. Napoleon was on a ships
deck bound for Egypt. 1t was a bright
starry night, and as he paced the deck,
thinking of the great affairs of the state
and of battle, he heard two men on deck
in conversation about God; one saying
there was a God and the other saying
there was none. Napoleon stopped and
looked up at the starry heavens, and then
he turned to these men in conversation,
and said:
oGentlemen, l heard one Of you say
there is no God; if there is no God, will
YOU please to tell me who made all that"
Aye, if you had not been persuaded OF
il before, you are persuaded OF 1t now;
1r the shining heavens declare the glory
- God and the earth shows his handl-
g but you believe more IMAM C,s,., -
believe that there was Jesus; you be-
lieve that there was cross; you believe
that you have an immortal soul; you be-
lieve that it must be regenerated by the
spirit of God, or you can never dwell in
bliss eternal. think that great many
of you will say that you believe it is i'm
portant to have the religion of Jesus
Christ every day of our life, to smooth our
tempers and purify our minds, and hold
us imperturbable amid all the annoyance
and vexations of life. You and / have
seen so many men trampled down by mis-
fortunes because they had no faith in
Jesus, and you say to yourself:
'If they were so easily overcome by the
trials of life, what will it be when greater
come upon them-heart-
breaking calamities, tremendous grlefsP'
ooh, if we have no God to comfort us
when our fortune goes, and we look upon
the grave of our children, and our houses
are desolate, what will become of us2
What a sad thing 1t is to see men all un-
helped of God, going out to fight giants OF
trouble; no closet of prayer in which to
retreat, no promise of mercy to soothe
the soul, no rock Of refuge in which to |
hide from the blast. Oh, when the swift |
coursers of trouble are brought up, champ |
ing and painting for the race, and the reins
ere thrown upon their necks, and the lath-
cred flanks at every spring feel the stroke |
Of the lash, what can we do on foot with |
them3 If, having run with the footmen,
they wearied US, how can we contend with |
horsesl
We have all yielded to temptation. We |
have been surprised afterward that so |
small an inducement could have decoyed |
us from the right. How insignificant |
a temptation has sometimes captured |
our SOUL And, if this is so,
my dear brother, what will it be |
when we come to stand in the presence of |
that prostrated a David, and a !
Moses, and q Peter, and some of the |
mightiest men in all Gods kingdoml Now |
we are honest; but suppose we were
placed in some path of life, as many of |
Gods children have been, where all the |
forces of earth and hell combine to capt |
ure the soull Without Jesus we would go |
lown under it. If already we have been |
beaten by insignificant footmen, we would |
be distanced 10000 leagues by the horses. |
All, don't like to hear man say:
II could not commit such a sin as that. |
can't understand how a man could be |
carried away like that"
You don't know what you could do if
he grace of God let's you. You know
What John Bunyan said when he saw
nan staggering along the street, thor
,ugly imbruted in his habits. He said:
There goes John Bunyan, but for the
,race of Godp'
/ can say when l see one utterly fallen:
There goes De Witt Talmage, but for
he grace of Godw
If we have been delivered from tempta-
ion it is because the strong arm of the
ord Almighty has been about us, and
lot because we were any better than they.
t is great folly to borrow trouble. If
We can meet the misfortunes Of to-day we
will be able to meet the troubles of to-
morrow; but suppose, now, if through a